Even Though I Walk
by FFww2reviewerJC
Summary: The Riverboat Adventures by Lois Walfrid Johnson and I Am David by Anne Holm crossover. Larger summary inside. Free from explicit content! No swearing, intimate sexual content, or anything overly inappropriate!  PG


_**Author's Note:**_

_This is a crossover with the novel "I Am David" by Anne Holm and the series "The Riverboat Adventures" by Lois Walfrid Johnson._

_I think Paul Feig, who directed "I Am David" never actually read the book, just a synopsis, because all the minor characters (even the dog King!) aren't in the movie, sadly. He even took out Psalms 23 and Johannes' (I'm pretty sure he's Jewish) God mentioned in the book and put in a Catholic baker. Not to mention David never says "I am David" in the movie, like the book does (the original book was called "David" then "North To Freedom" in the USA) It's about a 12 year old boy in the 1950s who escapes a Bulgarian concentration camp and heads to Denmark. I'm adding some movie quotes from the amazing Johannes, cause Jim Caviezel plays him and both are awesome! (that's the only reason why I've seen it as many times I have, sometimes skipping the parts to where he's in lol) And yes, some escapes WERE successful in camps._

_"The Riverboat Adventures" is set in America, 1850s. It's a 6 book series about a 12 year old girl named Libby Norstad who goes to live on her Pa's boat. Her mother had died when she was 8, and her Pa didn't want a young girl on a boat without a mother. She helps a 13 year old cabin boy named Caleb Whitney and a runaway slave, Jordan Parker._

_This FF is set in 1950 Europe. David replaces Jordan Parker, and I'm using the main characters of "The Riverboat Adventures". Technically, I don't exactly "own" Christy. She's based on my friend, Ladychristythenoble. :)_

_DAVID_

"Head to Salonika." The Man's voice rang in his head.

David ran, as fast as his weary legs could carry him, away from THEM.

"Wait by the gate, you have thirty seconds to get across." The Man's voice rushed through his mind.

David froze at the wall for a split second, he knew some men, rarely and purposely, ran into the electric gate. The Man had turned it off, and David didn't know how long he'd last. Looking up, he inhaled, exhaled, then touched the fence, expecting to become electrocuted. When nothing happened, he put his left hand on the gate, and pulled himself up. In just a few more seconds, he was at the top of the fence.

"Here goes," he whispered before jumping. After landing on his stomach, David grew hungry. "Don't think of food!" he castigated himself angrily.

"Crawl under the gate," The Man's voice echoed.

David suddenly froze, the atmosphere seemed tranquil, peaceful, too still. He heard screams behind him, the guards.

"Shoot me," he muttered, completely sick of life. When nothing happened for several seconds, he twisted around to see two guards fighting. Panicking, he rushed forward and climbed under the fence. Using his elbows, he pulled himself over to the opposite side with success.

"On the ground," The Man's voice said. "You will find a compass, bread, and some water."

As promised, the three objects were in a small bundle.

The food made his mouth water. "David!" he reprimanded. "Stop thinking!" he knew one mustn't think, for they would do insane things.

He ran south, to Salonika, to freedom. Only one questioned remained heavily on his mind, was this a trick? Would The Man, or another guard, shoot him? Of course they would. He then came up with a brilliant idea, he would walk slowly, completely taking the fun out of shooting him. Halcyon filled his slow steps. After minutes of walking, nothing happened.

"Run!" a voice told him.

Quickly and silently, he did as he the small voice told him. When he got to the port, he softly stowed away on a boat. In the cramped bottom, David panted, and with a pang that hit like a rock, he remembered Johannes. David groaned with the memory. Johannes was amazing, his best friend and somewhat of a mentor, and was now dead.

A sharp voice appeared interrupting his thoughts, the foreign lips moving rapidly. David couldn't understand what the boy was saying for a few minutes, then it hit him.

"What are you doing here?" the boy's now-soft voice asked, for the thousandth time.

David silently gulped._ Oh well_, his mind gently told him. _You tried. You did you're best; that's all that matters. _That's what Johannes would have told him, and he knew it. "I, I don't know." True, he had no idea what he was doing. All he knew, was he had to get to Denmark for an unknown reason, and his mission would end with this boy shooting him. Not that he cared much.

"Are you Jewish?"

_"Where are my parents?" David asked Johannes._

_Johannes shrugged the question off, only focusing on the overseeing guard who seemed to be breathing down their necks. "David, I don't know anything about you."_

_David frowned. "Why am I here?"_

_"I don't know. I don't know anything about you." Johannes calmly repeated. "I do not think you're Jewish. Your parents probably disagreed with government."_

_"Are you Jewish?"_

_"Yes, I am."_

David shrugged, not knowing the answer the boy was looking for. "I, I, honestly don't know." Quickly, he remembered THEY hated Jews, and added, "No, I am not Jewish."

The boy's eyes reminded him of Johannes' eyes, although he had had brown, and the boy had blue eyes. They weren't full of hate or racism, they had a caring look to them.

"Are you, a stowaway?" the boy questioned, raising his eyebrows. When he got no reply, the boy asked, "Are you hungry?"

David opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Trying again to speak, he quickly said, "I need to get to Italy." Biting his dry lips, he yearned for a light to clearly see the other boy's face. Reading faces was something he did well.

Puzzled, the other boy asked, "Italy?"

"I need to get to Denmark." David said quickly, not knowing where either Denmark or Italy were.

The boy nodded at that, leaving in a slight hurry.

David slumped back. "I'm dead."

_CHRISTY_

The sun crept out from behind the dark clouds. Sitting on a barrel with her elbows on the smooth rail, Christy felt she could fall asleep any second. "Hey Christy!" Caleb yelled at her. Christy lightly jumped and smiled her radiant smile. "Caleb, stop yelling."

Caleb stood to Christy's right, slightly pushing her. Christy giggled and shoved her way back on the barrel. "What do you need?"

"A stowaway is downstairs," Caleb whispered moving closer to her.

Christy's eyebrows moved, although she couldn't manage to bring them down again. "Well, did you feed him yet?"

"That's we're I'm headed." Caleb's voice slurred as he tried keeping it low.

Facing the sunlight, Christy too kept her voice down. "Is he Jewish?"

Caleb shook his head. "What was odd was he didn't seem to know."

"He's just scared." Christy thought aloud. Although she felt she practically knew she could bet if he was a Jew or not, and win, Caleb's voice was sure. The boy wasn't Jewish.

Changing the subject, Caleb gave a playful grin. "What do you think of Miss Elizabeth Norstad?" Caleb pretended to bow before purposely tripping over his feet. "Oh my, I am sorry, Miss Libby."

Christy laughed. "Love your neighbors."

"You know, Jesus said to love your neighbors, cause it's so hard to do!" Caleb thought slowly. "Libby practically tripped over me then blamed me. Hey, I'm not perfect."

"Neither am I. I simply do what's right." Silence fell between the two, before Christy broke the ice by saying, "Shouldn't you go, bring food to whoever's downstairs?"

Walking away, Caleb inquired, "Why can't you?"

Barely smiling, Christy slightly nodded. Running to the kitchen where Caleb's grandmother worked, Christy found the old lady rolling a pie. "Hello, Christy."

"Hello Miss Rachel." Christy gave a little curtsy as a sign of respect.

Granny, who most called her, stopped her work to acknowledge Christy. "Hello, child. Please come in!"

Christy slowly walked in. "Granny," Christy called her by what most people did. "I need some food, for a stowaway."

The corners of the old woman's mouth turned upwards, always happy to help a friend.

Christy trotted downstairs, wondering if Caleb was just pulling a prank and he would jump out of the shadows.

Instead of Caleb, a young boy, nearly Caleb's age yet much thinner, stood up.

As he stood in a light, Christy knew his dark brown eyes held slight fear. "It's alright. I'm Christy."

Walking out cautiously, the boy said, "I am David."

Christy nodded, offering the food. "How old are you?"

Pausing as if thinking, the boy said, "Twelve."

After nodding again, Christy struggled to carry on a conversation. Being somewhat talkative, Christy rarely found communication difficult. David ate in silence, with dripping water being the only thing audible. When the food was gone, he slumped back.

"Are you tired?" asked Christy.

David shrugged.

"Do you have enough energy to walk up the steps?"

David nodded as if it was a stupid question. "Of course."

The two walked up the stairs on too the main deck. Captain Norstad was talking to a woman in a puffy red dress and a girl about the same age as Christy.

"Who is that?" David asked.

"It's just the captain." muttered Christy. As she continued to glance at the captain, a large figure nearly tripped her over, that large figure being Caleb.

"I just met Captain's daughter and boy!"

Christy frowned while picking herself up. "What?"

"She's a big beauty queen and _she_ yelled at _me _because she nearly ran me over!"

Christy gulped. Yes, having another girl hanging around would be fun, but would she gave David away?


End file.
